World Soccer - October 2016

Brian
GLANVILLE
THE VOICE OF FOOTBALL
Havelange: FIFA’s
immoral master
After Joao Havelange died peacefully, and
wealthily, in his bed at the age of 100, so
many quotations suggest themselves.
“For evil to flourish it is enough for good
men to do nothing,” from the 18th-century
political philosopher Edmund Burke. Or,
if you prefer, the words of Robert Walpole,
the first English prime minister, somewhat
earlier that century, who said: “Every man
has his price.”
In his outrageous 24 years in office
as president of FIFA, Havelange did
incalculable harm to football, and so
long as FIFA exists it will not be put right.
Yet when he died, a huge new Rio
stadium had been named after him. That
he lasted so long in power, re-elected
every four years, is a shocking reflection
of the morality of world football.
FIFA being the absurd organisation that
it is, when every member nation whether
large or small has a vote, it was all too
easy for him – and later for his ghastly
Unseated...
Stanley Rous
Honoured...Rio’s
Estadio Olimpico
Joao Havelange
Powerful...Joao
Havelange
successor Sepp Blatter – to raise enough
votes through financial chicanery.
But what of the plenitude of European
countries, alas very much including our
British own, who failed to make any proper
challenge? Not until it came to the FIFA
presidential election in Seoul before the
2002 World Cup did Adam Crozier, then
26 WORLD SOCCER
the controversial FA chief executive,
subsequently a major success running
ITV, have the courage and gumption to
attack Blatter’s presidency. But, of course,
he was wasting his time.
Havelange was an accomplished
swimmer and water polo player, competing
in both the 1936 Olympics, when Nazi
efficiency impressed him, and in London
in 1948. In his highly regarded book, How
They Stole the Game, which was published
in 1999, the year after Havelange at long
last quit the FIFA presidency, David
Yallop paints a devastating picture of
how Havelange gained power in FIFA.
To unseat Sir Stanley Rous in his office,